


Naming Conventions

by lunaseemoony



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dragons, F/M, Humor, Pets, Post-Episode AU: s02e13 Doomsday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:17:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4742603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunaseemoony/pseuds/lunaseemoony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This time Rose wants to bring back a live souvenir. To her surprise, the Doctor is particularly picky about names. But she never expected to find out just how picky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Naming Conventions

**Author's Note:**

> This for [tinyconfusion](http://tinyconfusion.tumblr.com), who asked for Ten and Rose discussing pet alien names with a bit of a twist. This is also for the [timepetalsprompts](http://timepetalsprompts.tumblr.com)‘ pay it forward promo. Thank you for the wonderful prompt dear. I had a lot of fun with it. :D

 "All right then, little one, got to go!" the Doctor announced in front of the TARDIS doors. "Places to be, worlds to save and all that!" He opened the door and disappeared inside. When she didn't immediately follow he poked his head back out and gestured it towards the console. "Come on Rose. Got to go, remember?"

Rose looked down and pressed her lips together before returning to him with a wide grin. "Yep! Coming!"

She skipped up to the TARDIS, ready to head inside. But the Doctor's furrowed brow halted her. He put out a studying finger but looked her over from head to toe before he spoke. "Rose. Why's your jacket _lumpy_? It wasn't lumpy before we left. But there it is, a little lump. Did you nick something from the colony? You did, didn't you?" He narrowed his eyes at her "lumpy jacket" and leaned in, waggling his finger at it.

"Dunno what you're - " but her "lump" interrupted and gave itself away with a muffled squawk.

"Rose..."

Her stowaway poked his head out from her shirt and squawked again. Rose had called him a dragon, even though the Doctor told her he was this planet's equivalent of a dinosaur. Well, he was a cold-blooded flying reptile. A cold-blooded flying reptile with warm orange puppy eyes and soft mossy green scales that melted Rose's heart. He'd been looking for something warm when a storm robbed him of the sun's heat. He scrambled up her leg and slid beneath her shirt. Back then, only hours ago, it made her scream at the top of her lungs. Right now, just before they stepped aboard the TARDIS, it made her grin. She'd grown attached to the scaly thing with its nasally squeaks and tiny toothy grin.

"We're not bringing him along. His home is here," the Doctor asserted sternly, and nodded at the little creature nestled in her chest.

"But Doctor," Rose whined, pulling out her prize-winning pout. "His mum's gone. And he's only a hatchling."

The Doctor snorted and tossed his head back a little before looking at the cliffside behind them. "He won't stay that way for long, you know. He'll grow. He'll be the size of a bus. A flying bus. A flying carnivorous bus." He glared at the little one and chuffed. "And is he... is he in your _bra_?"

"Yeah, you said they're cold-blooded. Poor baby's gonna freeze on his own." When the Doctor rolled his eyes she realized. "You're _jealous_!"

She giggled at the Doctor and tucked her tongue between her teeth. Rose looked down at her little companion and curled her finger under his chin. He beamed and squawked at her. He might have sounded like a scaly chicken. But for at least a few hours the pair of them mutually agreed he was _her_ scaly chicken. The Doctor couldn't argue that her bra made a good nest. Her new friend had come to this conclusion on his own. Rose could fuss over the scratches he'd left in a hot bath later. She couldn't say no to his tiny little flapping wings and broad grin. It reminded her of somebody else she knew. Maybe even the wings. He did have a habit of flying about.

He thrust his hand through his hair, making a mess of it before tugging at his ear and raising his voice. "I'm not jealous! I'm just making sure he knows his place, is all."

Rose wiggled her shoulders and leaned in as she quipped, "Yeah, and it's right between - "

"You're missing the point."

Rose hugged her chest. "You've got a ship that's bigger on the inside and you wanna argue about a pet getting too big?"

"Oh fine. Fine. But you're responsible for flying him and feeding him! I don't want to know where that food's going to come from when he gets bigger, I'll say that."

Rose picked up her scaly companion and raised him above her head. He beamed and squawked, flapping his wings. "You hear that Melvin? You're coming with us!"

"I'm sorry what's that... _Melvin_?" the Doctor stopped walking back up the ramp and asked, his pitch rising in disbelief as he snapped his head back.

"Yeah. Melvin. What's wrong with that?"

The Doctor snorted again and ignored her at first, dashing up to the console to set the coordinates for the Vortex, she presumed. He darted a few laps around the controls before twirling around to tell her, "Melvin is the name of Jackie's ex-boyfriend's grandad, is what's wrong with 'Melvin.'" Truth be told, he probably wasn't far off. Their new pet had made a spot for himself on the jump seat, turning about a couple times before curling into a spiky ball. But when the engines kicked into gear, he quickly scrambled up Rose's leg and reclaimed his nest beneath her shirt. When the TARDIS landed, the Doctor asked if she was peckish at all, as if they hadn't just brought a dragon aboard the ship.

"Thought _Melvin_ and I might have a little cuddle in bed. I'm knackered," Rose answered with a pronounced yawn. "I think it's a lovely name for a sweet little dragon, mm Melvin?" she added and began walking with her head held high.

The Doctor tore after her. "He's not a dragon! And there are better names. Non-grandad names. If I'm keeping him in _my_ ship, he's got to have a name worthy of a Time Lord's pet!"

Rose playfully closed her bedroom door in his face. He threw it open and marched in behind her. He never asked to join her anymore. Not that he ever did in the first place. He crept into her bed the first time after he had a nightmare some months ago while Mick was still with them. They'd had a cuddle or two before then. But Rose never felt closer to the Doctor than when she whispered comforts in his ear with him curled into her, hidden safely beneath her duvet. He fell asleep in her arms for the first time that night, his head tucked under her chin as if it had always belonged there. She'd never felt so exhilarated, so excited by one cuddle. The second time, she found his his bed when she was haunted by her own demons (the one they left behind, more specifically). It had been months, and she'd missed his cool breaths on her skin and his hearts' song hummed softly into her ear. He'd merely brushed off her concerns about dying in battle. But after leaping into his bed a sobbing mess, he brought her into his arms and promised her he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Just before she fell asleep he whispered to her that he needed her too much.

In the darkness of night he started coming to her, slipping in between her sheets like a cool breeze on a summer night. They never spoke of it in the day or during their travels. Not with words, at least. Maybe she wondered a bit more about his chest fluttering when he looked at her sometimes. She might have been a bit more conscious of her flirting. But as he watched her undress and fumbled with his trainers in her bedroom that evening, Rose realized it had at least become the norm. Since she began traveling with the Doctor, he'd always respected her personal space and her bedroom as her own, despite that she was living on his ship. But now he had his own side of her bed that she couldn't bring herself to sleep on. Not that he'd ever give her the chance. They'd fallen into such a routine that he knew to toss her his shirt once it was off, because he knew she loved to sleep in it. She guessed he probably loved that she slept in his shirt, even on the nights he didn't join her. He'd learned to come looking in her room for any lost ones.

The Doctor stripped down to his vest and pants while Rose got ready for bed. They both watched their new companion crawling around with outstretched wings pecking at Rose's pink carpet in confusion. The Doctor laughed at the nest Rose made for the little creature in between their pillows. It was a compromise, because he wouldn't be allowed to take the Doctor's rightful place in bed, she was told. She wouldn't argue that it was funny, as she'd made the nest out of her bra and t-shirt, since he'd seemed to find so much comfort there. She was squawked and whined at when she slipped into bed and he couldn't follow. Rose forgot he couldn't properly fly yet. So the Doctor scooped him up and plopped him in his little nest.

"Charles," the Doctor offered after she settled onto his chest and began raking her fingers over the rows of thread on his vest. “We should name him Charles.”

"What, like Dickens? Come off it Doctor."

"So Will won't be acceptable either, then."

Rose laughed and shook her head against his chest. Not content to be left out, the subject of their discussion crawled up onto his chest too, and squawked in his face, as if to imply his disapproval of the choices thus far.

"Oh! Rose, I've got it!" The Doctor bounced on the mattress, making the little hatchling hiss at him. "Norbert!"

"Norbert? How's that any better than Melvin?"

The Doctor tutted at her. "Look at him Rose! He looks just like a Norwegian Ridgeback! And he's a baby! Ooooh how did I not think of this earlier? It's perfect! Norbert!"

"What, like in Harry Potter? You said he's not a dragon!" Rose complained, sitting up.

He laughed and pulled her back down as he fished his hand beneath her acquired sleep shirt. She offered him a low groan and leaned in to his cool palm. "He's not. But he _looks_ like one. You said so yourself!" He scratched under the lizard's chin, eliciting that heart-melting, toothy grin from his scaly face. "And see, he likes it, eh Norbert? Hm? Eh?" He added, cooing with his pouting lip.

"He likes having his chin scratched, is what he likes."

"Mummy doesn't want to admit you like Daddy's name for you, does she? Hm?" the Doctor ignored her in favor of playing with 'Norbert's' little wings.

Rose's cheeks heated up. "Mummy? Daddy?"

"Well, it's good practice, isn't it? I'll say this though, you can leave our babies' names up to me. I mean, honestly Rose. Melvin? No child of mine will ever be named Melvin,” the Doctor blurted out in a hurry. She almost missed it.

"Our babies," Rose parroted.

"Well yes. I don't reproduce asexually, you know," the Doctor teased, and flipped a condom wrapped between his fingers that he'd plucked off the nightstand. His hand trembled a little, so the condom fell to the floor beside the bed.

Rose rolled onto her back and took a few deep breaths. Well there was an answer to a question she didn't know she had. Yes, the Doctor did consider their relationship a serious one. Their nighttime habits felt like a dream until the Doctor started acting more like... _himself_ in her bed just then. They'd been so quiet about their escalating relationship. It started out with a single chaste kiss as she fell asleep one night. That turned into a few little kisses. He even tugged her into a celebratory snog later that day while they were traveling. But for the most part it was all contained in her bed. One night he let his hands wander a little. The following night they slipped into previously forbidden territory. She thought at first that it was all a game to the Doctor, seeing how far he could go. A week or so later he even had playful glint in his eyes as he looked up at her while chasing her writhing hips. He grinned at her when he told her he returned her love (that she'd blurted out as they made love the first time). He held her hand a little tighter, and wasn't at all shy about snogging her in the most inappropriate times. But they never discussed what they had. Not until that day, at least. He left her confused when they weren't in bed. Confused, but hopeful.

Rose rolled back over and wriggled into the Doctor's arm. "Is that why you asked how long I'm gonna stay with you, Doctor?"

She looked up into the Doctor's eyes, gone from that playful gleam to a sincere stillness; like a ripple smoothing out on a pond. Only then Rose noticed the Doctor's chest was pumping rather quickly. Bless him, he was trying to finally talk about _it_. He seemed so confident when the lights were off and he was whispering heartfelt thoughts into her ear. But now? He was a stuttering, trembling mess. And she loved him that much more for it.

Rose lifted her head and kissed some of his confidence back onto his jaw. "It is, isn't it?" she asked when he didn't immediately answer. Just as he gulped back a croak, she swallowed a comment about domestics. Obviously the point was moot anyway.

"That all right?" he stuttered.

Rose ran her fingers down Norbert's spine and hummed into the Doctor's neck. "Me, a mum? Hadn't really thought about it. Not with this life. You're sure it's okay?"

"This universe deserves more of you, I think." The Doctor craned his neck to drop a kiss to her forehead. Norbert joined in with a flick of his tail and a hushed squawk. "Isn't that right, little one, hm? You'll be good practice, won't you?"

Rose buried her blush in the Doctor's neck and jaw. Or she tried to at least. His insufferable chuckling vibrating into her ear told her he could still feel it. She paid him back with this thought, "Mum'll still want a wedding first, you know. Just sayin'." And his dropped jaw, rendered utterly speechless, made it all worth it.

 

 


End file.
